Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Acquires 14,029 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,422 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,029 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 159,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,924,000 after buying an additional 64,880 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in American Electric Power by 231.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 107,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 74,900 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 167.9% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 344,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.35 on Friday, reaching $88.60. 3,332,412 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,215,932. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.86. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $92.88. The company has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.14.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.